Elgoibar's San Bartolomé festivals conclude with Basque Farmer's Day

Sales of farm products, cattle exhibition, meat tasting, and music marked the final events of the celebrations.

Generic image: Stone facade of Elgoibar town hall with balcony and railings, warm afternoon sunlight.
IA

Generic image: Stone facade of Elgoibar town hall with balcony and railings, warm afternoon sunlight.

Elgoibar's San Bartolomé festivals concluded on Sunday with Basque Farmer's Day. The Aita Agirre square hosted product sales and a cattle exhibition, while Kalegoen square held cider and cheese competitions.

From early morning, the Aita Agirre square in Elgoibar offered products from local farms for sale. A Limousin cattle exhibition was also held there. Although no competitions took place this year, a meat tasting and a show cooking event were organized, featuring various recommendations and recipes.
Meanwhile, in Kalegoen square, residents gathered around cider and cheese. Organized by the associations Sallobente and Kalamua, competitions were held to select the best cider and cheese.
This year's Mintxeta Memorial, the 26th edition of the stone-lifting competition, was held in Aita Agirre square because Kalegoen square was being prepared as a stage for the concert by the group ETS. Five stone-lifters competed at the new location. Mikel Lopetegi “Urra”, the winner of the last three events, could not attend due to a last-minute issue.
The stone-lifters had to lift the irregular stones Mintxeta (124.8 kg) and Belaustegi (145.8 kg) in seven-minute turns. All managed to lift the Belaustegi stone twice onto their shoulders.
Xabier Aranburu 'Guzta' from Idiazabal performed the most lifts with the Mintxeta stone, a total of 12. The winner received 600 euros, a trophy, and a cap. Aimar Galarraga placed second with one less lift, although another lift he performed was deemed invalid. Gari Garmendia came third with 10 lifts, Oier Azpeitia fourth with 8, and the young Hodei Amezkua from Zarautz fifth, achieving 7 lifts in his first participation.
In the evening, the concert by the group ETS drew a large crowd to the square, concluding the festivities.